


FE Fates Week 2018: A New Home

by Squishy (BurbleJerry)



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Aliases, Before Awakening DLC, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Homesickness, Light Angst, Minor Violence, Original Character(s), Performance Art, Platonic Relationships, Spoilers, dancer!inigo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-06 07:05:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14636598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurbleJerry/pseuds/Squishy
Summary: What if all the Awakening kids went to Fates, and became retainers? Because why not. A story told in media res snippets. Although these chapters are related, I’ve decided to post the chapter names [which contain prompt and characters] for reader convenience:Chapter 1: Dance [Inigo, Azura, Brady, Elise, Xanderish]Chapter 2: Vow [Xander, Gerome, Minerva, Camilla’s wyvern kinda, Lucina, Peri, Laslow, Original Characters]Chapter 3: Wind [Elise, Brady, Yarne, Effie, Nah, Arthur, Original Character]Chapter 4: Reunion [Lucina, Gerome, Xander kinda, Morgan, Chrom, Odin, Original Characters]Chapter 5: Rainbow [Noire, Beruka, Selena, Kjelle, Camilla, Cynthia, Original Character]Chapter 6: Dark [Leo, Laurent, Morgan, Odin, Original Characters, Niles]Chapter 7: Free For All [Lucina, Morgan, mentions of others]





	1. Dance [Inigo, Azura, Brady, Elise, Xanderish]

**Author's Note:**

> What kept me interested in Fates were the characters, the music, the game mechanics with the classes and skills and weapons and such, and [some] of the fun maps. In fact, watching the Awakening characters grow a bit, as characters, was neat to see, and I wanted to see more of that. I may write a series, or parts of things someday, where these characters are in Fates again. Regardless, I hope y’all enjoy the ideas, and the OCs, and this week in general. :3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a performance celebrating peace, a certain duo reminisce about their choices.

The audience, composed of friends and family and coworkers, stood up in thunderous applause as the final note abated. Elise hopped up and bowed with her fellow performers, nearly managing to clip Brady with her violin in the process, and practically glowing with pride.

“That was so much fun!” Elise chirped just as the applause was ending. She turned to the other three with a big smile, bouncing on her feet with excitement and making her pigtails bounce with her. “Can we do that again? Please?”

“Of course we can,” Inigo said smoothly. The decorative ornaments on his dancer’s outfit jingled faintly as he straightened. “But maybe after poor Brady here has had a nap.” Inigo simply chuckled at the scowl Brady shot him.

“Now that we’re at peace, we could do this whenever we like,” Azura added with a patient smile. She was getting used to Elise’s energy, and didn’t even flinch when the young princess cheered.

“Yay! Thank you guys!” Elise laughed before she darted into the audience, violin still in hand. The case remained on stage, temporarily abandoned.

“She never runs oughta power, does she?” Brady mused aloud, watching his liege chatter at her older brother. Xander was actually smiling with obvious pride. The violinist sat down and began putting his own instrument away, properly checking and cleaning it as he did so.

“Nope,” Inigo laughed as he sat beside his old friend. “But we need that kind of happy energy here, if we want to make things better.”

The remaining three lingered in content silence before Azura was called over by her cousin. “Excuse me,” she said, her voice soft as usual, yet her smile was sincere as she walked off with her usual grace.

That left only Inigo and Brady on the stage, which was being ignored as the attendees dispersed from the room or conversed among themselves. Inigo made sure that nobody was paying attention to them anymore, then looked to his gentle-hearted friend, and the smile faded a little from his face. “Zack-- err, Brady,” he corrected quickly at Brady’s frown, “I was thinking-- What? We called each other fake names for years, give me a break.”

Brady waved a hand dismissively, “Yeah, yeah, get on with what you were gonna say.”

“I’m glad we decided to stay,” Inigo said quietly. Brady’s annoyed expression softened as the dancer went on, “Don’t get me wrong, I miss everyone in Ylisse, but we’re needed here. I told my parents farewell, and I know they’ll be ok. I just… hope they’ll know we’re happy.”

“They knew we might not come back,” Brady pointed out with a grumble. He looked away, but Inigo could hear the tears held back in the violinist’s tone. “I know what ya mean. I… miss ma. I miss everyone. But we got a purpose here, you know? It didn’t feel right, stickin’ around in a world we didn’t really belong in.” His sigh was more of a huff. “Dangit, Inigo, I was tryin’ to enjoy today and you have to up and make everything gloomy.”

Inigo smiled sadly. He placed a hand upon Brady’s shoulder and squeezed. “Come now, we were having a great time just a few minutes ago, right?” At Brady’s teary-eyed frown, Inigo quietly added, “I just wanted to talk about it again, but I guess we’ll have all the time in the world to do that, huh?”

Brady wiped at his eyes with his sleeves. “Yeah, I getcha. Look, we’ll talk later. For now, lemme just go have a decent bloody time, alright?” He stood up, stretched with an alarming crack of his horrible spine, then shuffled off into the crowd.

Inigo watched him go. As the dancer stood to join the priest, he looked up to the ceiling, past the evenly-spaced light and shadow that the wall sconces provided. “Are you proud of me, mother?” he whispered. Then he joined the crowd, smiling with the distinct feeling that the answer was yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the performing arts banner we need amiright.


	2. Vow [Xander, Gerome, Minerva, Camilla’s wyvern kinda, Lucina, Peri, Laslow, Original Characters]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xander and his retainers interacting with Xander’s other retainers.

“There you go, Minverykins.” The wyvern rider ran a hand down Minerva’s snout gently, silent praise for her cooperation. Her scales shone in the dim candlelight, testament to how well-cared-for she was. She rumbled with delight.

“Tending to your wyvern again, Vert?”

The masked man hid his startled reaction, quickly facing his liege and offering a slight, yet respectful bow. “Did you need me, Lord Xander?”

Minerva softly grumbled in greeting to the Crown Prince.

Shaking his head, Xander stepped closer and looked over Minerva with approval. “Not tonight, thank you. I merely came to check on my horse and decided to stop by. You take good care of your companion, Vert. It’s admirable.”

Vert merely inclined his head again. “Thank you, my lord.”

“Ever humble.” Xander smiled faintly. “Good night, Vert. Be sure to get some rest.”

“I will. Good night, my lord,” Vert said simply, bowing again. He watched Xander leave the stables, then turned back to face his wyvern.

Minerva also watched Xander leave before she gnarred softly.

“He is a good liege,” Vert agreed. “We are very fortunate. But we must remain alert. We cannot become too attached.”

Minerva tilted her head and grumbled purposefully.

“I’m not becoming attached,” Vert argued with a frown. “I merely admire Lord Xander’s work ethic. It is fitting of a leader.”

Minerva turned her great head, regarding Vert before she rumbled knowingly.

Vert sighed, “Perhaps you’re right. Still, I cannot let attachment get in the way of our goal, not even a vow to serve. Get some sleep. We will be working early tomorrow.”

Minerva leaned forward, nudging Vert gently. He smiled and pat her snout, then silently left the wyvern section of the stables.

After Vert left, Minerva poked her head out of her stall and rumbled coquettishly at Camilla’s wyvern.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dark blue mercenary, with her contrasting white hair trimmed as short as usual, opened the door and bowed formally. “You called for me, my lord?”

“Luce, come in,” Xander bade, watching her close the door and step up with a dutiful air. “I request your counsel.”

Luce’s eyes widened slightly, but she took her cue to stand beside Xander, behind his desk, as he had lately allowed and even asked her to do. “What is the situation, Lord Xander?”

Xander laid out a couple documents, letting his retainer read them over. “What would you do in this situation, if you were in my stead, Luce?” He’d lately found her to have a head for leadership; he didn’t know where she’d gotten it, but Luce had become one of the few he’d ask such direct advice from.

After reading over the papers, Luce straightened and considered deeply. Finally, she suggested nearly the very course Xander had settled on. He was impressed, and let it show on his face.

“I was thinking much the same,” Xander confirmed. He eyed Luce for a moment as she stood there pondering. “Luce, have you ever been in a command position before?”

Luce hesitated, eyes darting away from his. “... Awhile ago, my lord. It is of no consequence now.”

Xander regarded her thoughtfully, but Luce said nothing further. Luce, and many of their current retainers, remained a mystery to him and his siblings. But they served well, and that was enough.

He nodded. “I see. That is all, Luce, thank you. Return to your other duties.”

“Yes, Lord Xander,” she said simply, and stepped out, her usual dutiful demeanor unchanged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How about S for slaying, I for injure, M for, hmm…”

“Murder!” Peri chimed in with a giggle.

The red-clad man standing beside Peri stood straight and proper, his clothes clean and pressed, his bearing charismatic. Yet he contrasted it all with a wide, excited grin. “Too simple, my friend. How about mutilate?”

“Simon, that’s kinda long, but I like it.”

“Excellent.” Simon glanced around the corner, making sure the coast was clear. “Hmm… O is a tough one. What blood-shedding activity begins with O?” Simon asked and, returning his gaze to Peri, saw that someone had walked up behind her while his head was turned.

“Peri. Simon.” Xander frowned. “What are you two doing?”

“Hi Lord Xander!” Peri chirped with a giggle. “We’re figuring out Simon’s battle intro! We’re gonna match.”

Simon bowed to Xander respectfully, letting his smile go from bloodthirsty to charming in the blink of an eye. “We were merely taking a break, my lord, and had the idea.”

Xander eyed them both and sighed. “As long as you aren’t causing a disturbance, I don’t mind. But please get your task done before dinner.”

“Ok!” Peri smiled, not at all bothered.

“Of course, Lord Xander,” Simon replied as he straightened, his blonde braids resting over his shoulders. Once Xander was satisfied and left, Simon leaned against the wall and frowned at his companion. “I suppose we shall have to give the O thought while we clean, yes?”

“Yup!” Peri confirmed, already hopping back into the building. Simon shrugged and followed her inside.

As they stepped into the storeroom, Simon snapped his fingers. Peri turned to look at him curiously. “Obliterate!” He declared with a grin, to which Peri giggled. “Now for N.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laslow turned another page and squinted at the tiny text, yet it insisted on blurring together. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Sigh.”

“Saying ‘sigh’ won’t get you any sympathy,” the dark mage beside him reminded with decreasing patience. They were clad in purple and cooler-color accents, and were halfway through their assigned stack of books.

“You’d think Lord Xander would assign me some duty more fitting as punishment. I only talked to one lady this time!” Laslow complained. “She didn’t even take all of my funds, either.”

The mage shook their head slightly, an amused smirk threatening to break out on their otherwise-impassive face. ”Laslow, you need to stop taking the bait whenever Simon gives you idiotic dating challenges. As it is, you’re hardly any help to me.”

“Well excuse me, Yarrel,” Laslow said sarcastically, “But this is boring. I would be better suited to, I don’t know, wooing some lonely ladies, or training.”

“You were supposed to be training when you snuck out,” Yarrel pointed out dryly. They didn’t bother hiding their smirk anymore, to which Laslow grit his teeth in annoyance.

“Well, fine, pick on me too,” Laslow muttered, crossing his arms. He tapped his upper sleeves, then gave up and tried squinting at the weathered pages before him.

“Better,” Yarrel said, flipping their blonde ponytail back over their shoulder. Laslow grumbled under his breath. Yarrel resisted a chuckle and returned to their research.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost just went with Marth as Lucina’s alias, then a friend pointed out that if they’re trying to hide their identities, using Lucina’s former alias might not be wise. Thus, Luce (‘Light’) it is. Also, yes, Yarrel uses they/them pronouns.


	3. Wind [Elise, Brady, Yarne, Effie, Nah, Arthur, Original Character]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elise and her retainers interacting with Elise’s other retainers.

The last few notes played out until only silence echoed them. Elise looked up to her mentor, and retainer, with a big grin, violin held as proudly as she could properly hold it. “Did I get it right?”

“Almost,” Zack said. “You gotta hold the last note for a couple beats longer, milady.”

Elise pouted, “Aww. Why is it so long, anyway?”

Zack shrugged pragmatically. “Dunno. Sounds better with a few other instruments, though, if you ever get the chance to hear it.” His own violin lay across his lap, ready for use whenever he needed to demonstrate. But Elise proved to be a quick learner.

Elise tilted her head as she latched onto the statement. “Do you think we can play with other people sometime? That sounds like it would be fun.”

“Yeah, it would,” Zack agreed. His brief smile faded into a frown. “If yer father were ok with it.” At Elise’s sad expression, he quickly added, “So let’s keep practicin’ and surprise him with how good you are, and maybe he’ll say yes.”

“You think he will?” Elise perked up and righted her violin. “Ok, lemme try again!”

Zack nodded and listened as she played, though as she demonstrated excellence with the notes, his thoughts strayed. He sniffled for this poor, happy girl in this situation, with her family life as it was, and hoped their mission ended well for the royal children.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Effie was halfway through her daily training regiment. She hefted her current boulder with ease, “42.” Lowered, lifted. “43.” The boulder was used as a weight with no apparent strain, despite being larger then she was.

The wild-haired brunette watching her swallowed and nervously approached. “H-hey, um, Effie, how are you?”

Effie set her boulder down and turned to face her fellow retainer. “Hi, Chambray. What do you need this time?”

“Need? Me? Well, um. Can I just stick around? I have a bad feeling about today, you know? What if something happens, and I, uh… can’t be around anymore? That’d be bad!”

Effie sighed, “Fine, just don’t get in my way.”

“Thanks, I won’t!” Chambray affirmed, and sat nearby. He kept glancing around nervously.

As Effie resumed her workout, she commented, “Why do you always use me for protection?”

“Not always!” He protested. “... Just, you know. You’re big and strong, so it just makes sense.”

“You should be more worried about Lady Elise,” she chided, while hefting the boulder again. “47.”

“That’s exactly why I’m worried! She’d be down a retainer if I’m gone, and that would be terrible.”

Effie frowned at him; he yelped at the look. “You’re more like a scared rabbit then a retainer. But as long as you make our lady happy, I can’t complain.”

“Rabbit? What? N-no way,” Chambray laughed nervously. “Uh, you know, I should go check on our lady, bye!” He scampered off in the blink of an eye.

Effie had no idea why that comparison always made him leave. Obviously, he was a man, not a bunny. With a shrug, she re-focused on boulder-lifting. “48… 49…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elise hesitated before the open doors, staring at the retainer who stood upon the terrace. The rushing winds whipped her pale green braid and red cape all about, yet the girl merely stared out over the castle grounds. She leaned forward, into the wind. While the decorative rail prevented her from falling, it almost seemed as if she intended to grow wings and fly.

“Gules? What’re you doing?” Elise called out. Immediately, the other girl shrieked and spun around, eyes wide as they fell upon her liege.

“Oh, Lady Elise, don’t startle me like that,” Gules sighed. She clutched a strange stone close, one Elise had seen her with before. Seeing where her lady’s eyes roved, Gules frowned and tucked the pretty rock into her pocket. “Please don’t try to ask me about my stone again, my lady.”

“I’ll find out about it someday!” Elise promised with a wink. She stepped back as Gules walked inside and closed the terrace doors. “But why were you out there? It’s super windy today.”

“I know,” Gules replied. She almost didn’t continue, then with another sigh, added, “I just like the wind, my lady. Did you need something?”

Elise pouted at the shifty answer, but nothing kept her down for long. “Do you wanna play?”

“Nnn-,” Gules frowned. “Fine.” She always tried to act mature at first. Elise grinned, knowing that within minutes they would be playing ‘Dragon House’ or something equally fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A poor old woman looked both ways across a busy road. She sighed, tired and resigned, when some odd blonde guy in tricolor armor stepped up.

“Never fear! I shall help you across the street,” Arthur said, offering his arm. She smiled uneasily and took it. They began walking across the road, without incident. 

She waved as she left. He waved back and turned to leave, humming a cheery tune. Halfway across the road and he was safe, until a carriage came careening from out of nowhere.

Arthur was resigned to another violent incident of bad luck when a flash of navy blue barreled into him, pushing them both out of the path. He staggered to his feet and helped the fellow up.

“Thank you!” Arthur said, turning and shaking the gloved hand of a cloaked figure. Then he squinted as he got a closer look under the hood. “Oh, Terence! What brings you here today?”

“Lady Elise wanted see,” Terence explained. He pulled his hood fully down and shook his long, wavy blonde hair out. “Are free?”

“See… are… free…” Arthur puzzled over the words for a moment, gnawing on his lower lip.

“Lady Elise wanted to see you. Are you free?” Terence enunciated, speaking a beat slower.

“Oh! You always have such an odd way of speaking, my friend,” Arthur laughed. “Let us be on our way!”

Terence smiled mischievously, “Aware. But right, let’s go,” and escorted his unlucky coworker back to the castle with only a few more incidents on the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m super proud of Nah's blurb because the intro looks cool in my head.


	4. Reunion [Lucina, Gerome, Xander kinda, Morgan, Chrom, Odin, Original Characters]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Additional interactions in the Before Awakening DLC.

“Vert,” Luce whispered urgently as she hid behind the Wyvern Rider, “Do you have any spare masks?”

The masked man followed her gaze, regarding the familiar trio that currently fought-off the ‘escaped boars’. With a mute nod, he reached into Minerva’s saddlebags and pulled out a feathery, glittery, bright white mask. “Will this do?”

“Yes, thank you,” Luce said with relief, immediately donning the headwear. With her hair a different color, cut short, and complete a different mask entirely upon her face, she was certain her father wouldn’t recognize her.

Still, it was nerve-wracking. As they fought the invisible soldiers, Luce couldn’t help but notice that her sibling and cousins were quite nervous. Not only was Chrom here, after all, but so was Lissa, though sharp-eyed Frederick was less worrying. The battle was in full swing, and Luce almost didn’t notice when she bumped into Chrom.

“Ack! Ff-sorry,” she stuttered, voice going squeeky in her sudden struggle to change her pitch: she couldn’t go with slightly-deeper like before, after all. Chrom regarded her with surprise.

“It’s fine. Are you alright, miss?”

“Fine, sir,” Luce squeaked. Oh gods, her voice was so horribly high-pitched. Naga forgive her.

“Your fighting style is familiar,” Chrom continued, eyeing her and her blade. Luckily, Luce had Falchion sheathed and the hilt glamoured; her drawn blade was mere steel. But if Chrom put two and two together too soon…

“I need to go. Over there. Lord Xander needs me,” Luce hurried, and rushed over, ignoring Xander’s brief, mildly confused glance as she joined him in attacking; he was hardly in any danger. Luckily, Chrom was soon distracted, and Luce vowed to keep a better eye on where he was. It was too soon to meet him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon after Chrom refocused on the fight, Marc had the misfortune of nearly bumping into him. The shorter yelped and back away, staring at the prince, at his father, with wide eyes. Oh no.

“Err, does your group normally bump into people so much?” Chrom asked, a bit startled.

“Uh, nevermind that!” Marc grinned nervously, but something nagged at them. “Do you have a tactician?”

“Not really,” Chrom admitted, brows raising. “Not a dedicated one. Me and Frederick come up with the battle plans when we need to. Why?”

Marc nodded to themself. “No reason! Good luck finding one!” They ran off, relieved that they wouldn’t have to hide from their other father, too.

“Who are these people?” Chrom asked himself, absolutely baffled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh, no,” Terence whispered, watching the fight. “He talked to her.” The outlaw was careful to keep his navy hood up and to avoid making eye-contact with any of the Ylisseans, but some of his family weren’t so lucky.

“I, um, wouldn’t mind, talking to her,” Warren admitted. The orange cavalier fidgeted from atop his steed, as he waited for a break in the battle to charge into. “But, um, we probably shouldn’t, um… all talk to her…”

“A shame, really, but it cannot be helped,” Simon agreed from his perch next to Warren, sitting sideways on the cavalier’s steed and swinging his red boots to and fro. “Ah! How did it go?” he asked as a yellow-clad dark mage flopped on the ground by the assembled group.

“She didn’t suspect anything,” Odin’s voice was muffled by grass. “It was good to see her again, but I fear the dark power of my presence will somehow spur her to guess my identity.”

“Speaking of, do you think Lord Corrin will wonder why we aren’t actively pursuing combat?” Joan asked with a frown. In one smooth motion, she fired an arrow at an invisible enemy, then whistled for Fennorn to finish them off. Her companion obliged with a growl, leaping about in the melee.

“No,” Yarrel answered flatly. They adjusted their purple cape before surveying the battle, tome raised, seeking an opening. “If we must, we can point out how narrow the field of combat is for so large a group. The best we can do is pick off distant foes.”

“I can only toss my axe so many times,” Guatier grumbled as he helped Odin stand up, since nobody else was. “By the way, I’m out of handaxes, so my only excuse here is sitting back in case someone closes in on you people.” He sighed and picked at his plain brown chestpiece, watching Yarrel point out a target for their and Odin’s spells. “Not worth talkin’ about. Let’s just focus on the fight, then get outta here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Morgan also uses they/them pronouns.


	5. Rainbow [Noire, Beruka, Selena, Kjelle, Camilla, Cynthia, Original Character]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Camilla and her retainers interact with Camilla’s other retainers.

Sable sat in the castle armory, struggling to string her bow. She was just getting the string, taut as it had to be, to the other end of the wood. Her eyes narrowed in concentration; she was almost there.

“Lady Camilla wants to speak to you urgently,” Beruka said, standing right there as if she hadn’t seemed to appear from thin air. Sable shrieked in surprise, her bow string snapped and nearly hit her, and she dropped her poor bow.

“INSOLENCE!” Sable growled, springing to her feet and facing the calm Beruka with an outraged expression. “MY TASK WAS UNFINISHED AND YET YOU INTERRUPT ME AT THE MOST INCONVENIENT MOMENT!”

Beruka stared at Sable, then simply stated, “My apologies. Lady Camilla said it was urgent.”

“I… oh,” Sable relaxed out of surprise, “Oh, is it? I’ll… I’ll get going, then. Sorry for yelling at you.” Beruka simply nodded. “Wait, you’re… not afraid? Or… you’re not going to run away?”

“No,” Beruka replied simply. Sable stared at her in confusion; the assassin stared back impassively. Silence reigned, dust gathered.

Sable resisted the urge to fidget. “Um… o-ok. I… appreciate it, since most people run away…” she trailed off as Beruka continued to mutely stare. “I’ll go see her right now.”

Beruka nodded and left, vanishing from sight with disturbing ease. Sable shuddered, “That was unnerving.” She looked to her abandoned bow with a sigh. “I’ll be back later,” she promised it, before trotting off to see her liege.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, Argent!”

The knight in question grumbled under her breath and stood, putting her workout routine on hold. “What? This better be important.”

“Let me guess, you’re still trying to compete with Effie?” Selena smirked as she stepped into the training room. “Nevermind that, have you been keeping up with your appearance at all?”

“Oh, not this again,” Argent groaned. She ran a hand through her short, black hair. “Selena, stop. I have better things to worry about than looking feminine. The last time we tried, I started losing my edge!”

“I thought about that, and I think we just went about it wrong,” Selena began, her smirk slipping into a frown as Argent glared at her. “What? It took me awhile to think up all this expert advice for you, you know.”

“I don’t need it,” Argent stated flatly. She picked up her dumbbells again, adding, “If you’re here to work out too, fine, but don’t try to make me something I’m not.”

“... Fine,” Selena agreed, stepping up and taking some much-lighter weights. Argent stared at her in surprise, and she scowled. “I’m just bored today, ok? This is my free day and I have nothing to do.”

“Then work out with me and chat all you like,” Argent offered, irritation fading somewhat. “Just… not about girly stuff again. Deal?”

“Deal.” Selena grinned. “Anyway, you wouldn’t believe what Laslow did again…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The massive wyvern landed in the courtyard with grace, and crouched low to let its passengers off. Camilla climbed off her mount with practiced ease, and as she turned to offer her retainer a hand, she found Bea already dismounting with just as much ease.

“I had no idea you could handle riding in the air, Bea,” Camilla cooed. Her visible eye appraised the woman with more then passing curiosity. “Especially since you ride that lovely horse.”

Bea grinned nervously, “Yeah, it’s weird right? But uh, don’t worry about it, Lady Camilla! I have many hidden talents!” Despite this proclamation, she couldn’t help but glance towards the horse stalls, where her totally-a-horse was penned up.

“You are very capable,” Camilla agreed. “Even with hidden talents. You and all of my lovely retainers are very important to me.”

“We’re like a special Camilla defense squad!” Bea blurted out with inspiration, throwing her fists in the air. “A rainbow of renegades, a cascade of colors, watching over the land which is you! Wait, no, Joan and Sable are both green...”

Camilla chuckled at her retainer’s mood swings, from nervous to excited to disappointed, and interrupted gently, “Bea, let’s go report to Father, and then you can think of a better comparison later, ok?”

Bea’s grin returned, this time without a hint of nervousness. “Ok! Let’s go, my lady!” She bounced off, and Camilla followed with a thoughtful smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“There you are, Joan. I should’ve known to look for you here,” Camilla cooed as she stepped into the stables. This section held miscellaneous animals, and she could see her retainer’s dappled green cloak, bow, and quiver hung beside a specific stall.

“My apologies, Lady Camilla,” Joan replied, standing up so that she was in view. Her large wolf-dog sat up beside her, the both of them rather covered in straw; it even stuck haphazardly from her blonde hair and short topknot. “I had to check on Fennorn. How can I help you?” She brushed some of the hay off, but the attempt made no overall difference in her appearance.

“I just wanted to see you, dear,” Camilla explained. She let herself in the stall and fearlessly scratched the big canine behind his ears; Fennorn’s tail began to wag immediately. “You should spend time with the rest of us too, you know.”

Joan nodded reluctantly, “You’re right, my lady.”

Before Joan could continue, Camilla suggested, “How about we chat after dinner?”

With a glance at Fennorn, who was quite happy to be pet, Joan nodded again. “I will be there, Lady Camilla.”

“Thank you, dear. I wouldn’t want you to think Fennorn here is your only friend, even if he’s a very good boy,” Camilla cooed, giving the wolf-dog a final pat. He barked happy agreement, and her answering chuckle was warm. “Remember, after dinner, Joan. Don’t be late.” She smiled, then left the stall and the stables.

Joan waited until she could hear her liege was truly gone, then sighed to herself. Her mistress was fair, but demanding. She pat Fennorn gently, then stepped out of the stall, pulled her cloak around her, and left to get ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fennorn is a good boy, and also a low-content wolfdog. Don’t actually get a wolfdog without proper research, this has been a PSA.


	6. Dark [Leo, Laurent, Morgan, Odin, Original Characters, Niles]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo and his retainers interact with Leo’s other retainers.

Rainer closed the last book and set it atop the stack of books he’d already read through. “I have looked through them all, my lord, but there is no provision that upholds the land complaint.”

“Just as I thought,” Leo muttered, frowning at the document. They sat together in the library, researching the background of a legal issue on behalf of one of Nohr’s many petty nobles. “Thank you for looking, Rainer.”

“It is no trouble,” Rainer replied. “Do you need anything else, my lord?” When Leo shook his head, Rainer went on. “Then may I ask you something?” 

Leo raised a brow. “You may.”

“Do you wield any tomes besides Brynhildr?” Rainer asked. At Leo’s other raised brow, the dark mage quickly added, “I mean no discourtesy, I simply--”

Leo held up a hand. “No, it’s a good question. Very observant,” he noted, mentally comparing the observational skill to those of Niles. “I don’t often use other tomes anymore, for Brynhildr is powerful enough.”

“Fascinating,” Rainer muttered. His tall, foreign hat slipped a bit, and he reached up to readjust it. “Thank you, my lord, for satisfying my curiosity.”

“It’s no trouble,” Leo replied. “Now, let’s put these books away, and let my brother know the good news.”

Rainer nodded, and as they put the books back in their shelves, he asked, “My lord? May I watch you use Brynhildr at some point, if it’s no trouble?”

“You may,” Leo said, with a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Later today, in fact.”

“Thank you,” Rainer replied, his subtle excitement causing him to nearly drop one of the books.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“We meet again, under the guise of the crescent moon, where we shall prove once and for all who is the darkest master of magic,” Odin intoned, slowly circling with his opponent. It was mid-day, but that never mattered.

“You fought me to a draw last time, but today, I won’t lose!” Marc proclaimed with a grin, in contrast to Odin’s comically serious frown. “For I have been training under the most powerful sorcerer in the land, learning the secrets of evil magic!”

Odin narrowed his eyes and threw out his hand. “Not even that will help you against the darkness roiling inside of me, empowered by the blessing of a fabled wizard!”

“Oh yeah? Well, what wizard could best the mighty Brynhildr, wielded by Lord Leo?” Marc shot back as they held in a laugh.

“Well,” Odin began, “uh… wait. That’s not fair. None can stand up to Lord Leo!”

“Exactly! I win by default,” Marc giggled, especially when they noticed Odin struggling to keep his very serious frown.

“But I, too, have trained under Lord Leo,” Odin retaliated. “We shall see who the better student of his abyssal might is!”

“Good one,” Marc commented, before resuming their hero persona. “Then let’s get started! Peak Thunder!” They waved their healing staff in imitation of offensive spellcasting.

Odin dodged with a flourish of his cape, wearing a triumphant grin. “Ha! Your basic magic is no match for my,” he struck a pose, “Radiant Flurry!” He threw his tome open and waved a hand as if throwing magic; Marc politely waited for Odin to finish the attack before they dodged.

“It seems we’re equally matched,” Marc noted, “also, I’m getting hungry. Can we pause and get lunch?”

Odin stared at his fellow Justice Cabal, then he relaxed. “Alright, but don’t think you’re off the hook!”

“I know, I know!” Marc laughed. They lowered their staff and began to head towards the mess hall with Odin. “We’ll finish this right after, I promise.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Damn,” Leo muttered under his breath. The rain was bad enough, turning the dirt road beneath his horse into mud, but the fallen tree in his path was worse. He looked to his retainer and, speaking so he could be heard over the rain, said, “We’ll have to find another path.”

“No problem, my lord!” the retainer called back. Instead of turning around, however, the fighter stepped up to the tree and began pushing it. Leo was about to call him off when the fallen trunk started to gradually roll. The prince watched as his retainer, not even covered against the rain, slowly pushed the tree until it was mostly out of the way.

With a grunt, the fighter straightened, stretched out his arms, and returned to Leo’s side. “Sorry, milord,” he said, with only minimal fatigue in his tone, “Figured we wouldn’t be the only ones who’d wanna use the road, so, might’s well.”

“That’s a noble thought, Guatier,” Leo admitted. “You seem to be nearly as strong as Effie.”

Guatier shook out his blonde hair, worin in a long topknot with the loose strands down the sides of his head tied in simple braids. “Nah, she’d just lift the tree without breakin’ a sweat. Anyways. Ready when you are, milord.”

Leo nodded, “Thank you regardless, Guatier. Now, let’s get going.” The prince snapped the reins and his horse continued. By his side, Guatier easily kept pace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So secretive,” Niles commented, his voice echoing in the half-empty storeroom. The figure kneeling on the floor hopped to his feet and spun around as Niles asked, “What’re you up to today, Warren?”

“N-nothing!” the cavalier squeaked. He brushed his neat, wavy blonde hair out of his face and eyed Niles nervously. “Just, um. Just praying. That’s, um, that’s not, um, illegal.”

“No, it’s not,” Niles agreed. “You never say who you pray to, though. It makes a man curious.”

“It’s, um,” Warren hesitated, fidgeting with his gloves. “It’s… um, not important. Did, um, did Lord Leo need me for, um, for anything?” he asked. Niles didn’t respond immediately, his one blue eye staring through Warren. The cavalier’s fidgeting intensified.

“Nope,” Niles answered, eventually. “I just wanted to check on you. See you at dinner.” Niles winked with his one eye and slipped out of the room as silently as he’d entered, the door closing with barely a whisper.

Warren waited a good few minutes before heaving a sigh of relief. “That guy is way too nosy,” he muttered under his breath. He quietly finished his prayer to Naga, then left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DARKNESS.


	7. Free For All [Lucina, Morgan, mentions of others]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is their home now.

Lucina filed in among the other late arrivals, searching the seats for an empty spot. The room had been set aside for the performance, meant in part to celebrate the newfound peace between the three major kingdoms. For her, it was a bittersweet confirmation of their decision.

Lucina picked an empty chair beside Morgan, giving her sibling a thankful nod. Their birth world was dead, their future world saved, but none of them had truly felt like they belonged. But here in Nohr, where there were no spectres of dead family, no versions of themselves that actually belonged, well… it felt like a new home.

“Hey, sis!” Morgan chirped, distracting Lucina from her thoughts. “Don’t look so bleak! We’re supposed to have fun today.”

“I know, my apologies,” Lucina replied. “I was just thinking.”

“About home?” Morgan asked, to Lucina’s surprise. “I was, too. I bet our dads would’ve loved to see us here. But don’t worry! We might miss our home now, but we have a new one. So turn that frown upside-down, because I think they’re gonna start soon.”

“You’re beginning to sound like Inigo,” Lucina commented, yet she couldn’t help her smile. “But you’re right. I’m sure we’ll be fine. Let’s enjoy the show.” If not, she reflected, they all still have Anankos’ stones. It had seemed wise to hold onto them. But now, this was home, and she felt at peace. As Brady, Inigo, Azura, and Elise set up on the stage, she spared a glance around at the others in attendance.

The Nohrian royals sat in front, though their retainers were more scattered. Lucina smiled as she caught sight of her cousins’ natural blonde heads scattered around the room. Childhood friends and Nohrian comrades sat side-by-side in semi-random groups. She looked back to Morgan, who was twisted around in their seat, whispering last-minute with Owain and Cynthia. Her short-haired cousin and the pegasus knight waved, and she returned it.

Silence descended upon the room, and Lucina quickly turned to catch the start of the show. She stifled a soft laugh when Morgan nearly missed it, and nearly tipped their seat over in the process of facing the stage. She knew it would be a show to remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I hope you’ve enjoyed Fates, even FE in general as much as I have. While some details may vary across time and space, you may see these OCs again someday~

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my personal/writing Twitter @Squishy_Jerry!


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